The Equipoise
by AmaderaM
Summary: An attack on Hermione Granger's family brings forth previously-unknown capabilities. What will this mean for her friends, for the Order, and for the war itself? [AU and Canon Divergence, OOC, Partially Dark!Hermione, Hermione and Dark Magic, subtle HGSS]


**A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoy this story. It's quite dark and dramatic and heavy, but I think it's a story worth telling. Updates will probably be sporadic, but still, let me know what you think and connect with me through Twitter and IG (jttbcm) or Tumblr (jttbcmfandoms). Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: The Obscured

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Severus Snape apparated onto the last step in front of Grimmauld Place and cursed Albus Dumbledore for ruining what had promised to be a good sleep. The Potions Master had been settling down for an early summer night when the phoenix patronus had barged into his quarters and commanded his presence in the god-forsaken establishment.

For a moment, Severus looked up at the house, at the dark walls extending upward and upward to the dark roof and dismal chimney spouts that seemed to both frame and cage the luminous full moon. A feeling of unease worked its way into his chest, but he ignored it and mounted the steps to the front door. The wards accepted him and he stepped into the house. The click of the door as it closed seemed like a cannon in the darkness, and for a moment, Severus feared the painting of Walburga Black would start shrieking, but it remained thankfully quiet.

Looking up at the sound of footsteps, Severus saw Albus Dumbledore descending the second-floor steps, his face grim. The unease in Severus' chest increased when he noticed there was a look in the Headmaster's eyes that he had never seen in them before. Before he could identify what it was, Severus was being herded up the steps.

"Severus, thank you for coming."

"What has happened?"

Dumbledore's mouth tightened into a line but he did not answer. As they neared the top, Severus could hear the harsh whispers and angry words of people in an argument, and underneath it all, the sickly tone of panic. Soon, the anguished faces of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Minerva MacGonagall, and Alastor Moody turned towards him. Severus saw Black's face tighten in revulsion and was prepared for a quip, but it did not come as Black just turned his face away. If Severus was apprehensive before, now he was - and this he never would have admitted - he was nearly afraid. What could have happened to make Black accept his presence?

The moment Potter had seen him, the boy had made a beeline for him. Severus was surprised when the younger lad grabbed his lapels and looked up at him imploringly.

"You can fix her, can't you?" The boy's tone was pleading, his face that of a child looking to an adult for security. For the first time since he had seen Harry Potter at eleven years old, Severus felt towards the boy the simple and genuine sense of responsibility a teacher feels for his student, unmarred by the backdrop of war and the bitterness of personal history.

Before Severus can say anything, Dumbledore was gently guiding the boy away back towards his godfather. The Headmaster then drew his wand, turned to a nearby door, and gracefully waved complex symbols against the wood. A lock clicked and the door opened. Severus, Albus, Alastor, Minerva, and Bill stepped inside.

In the middle of the room was an opaque dome of light, its surface swirling with various containment spells, charms, and hexes. At Dumbledore's nod, everyone except Severus waved their wands in complex patterns of unlocking. Severus, stoic as he thought he was, couldn't control his shock as the dome went translucent to reveal Hermione Granger kneeling on the dusty floor, her wrists bound by magical chains, her hair wild, and nearly every inch of her covered in blood.

When she saw Severus, she surged up from the floor, her face a mask of hatred. The chains around her ankles kept her from going past the still-swirling light of the dome, but Severus saw from the corner of his eye Dumbledore's wand hand twitch.

"DID YOU KNOW?" Miss Granger screamed at the Potions Master as she strained against her translucent prison. "DID YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO TONIGHT?"

Before anyone could do anything, something past Severus caught her attention. Her face twisted into a feral snarl, a miasma of dark magic surged up around her, and she shot out a spell, black as tar. Severus felt its coldness against his arm as it pierced through the containment spells and raced past him. Whirling to look behind him, Severus saw Harry Potter standing in the open doorway, flanked by the drawn wands of Black, Lupin, Arthur Weasley, and Ronald Weasley. The Potter boy was crying openly as he stared at Granger.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Granger slammed both hands against the dome, leaving bloody handprints against the translucent light. "HOW COULD YOU! IF IT WAS SIRIUS? IF IT WAS SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU!"

Dumbledore, Moody, Minerva, and Bill were waving their wands towards the dome and the light was once again becoming opaque as the miasma surrounding Hermione pulsed and spiked and strained against the prison. Soon, the dome was again covered in swirling light, completely obscuring and muting the screaming girl inside.

"Is everyone alright?" Dumbledore asked the group around the crying Harry.

Sirius nodded. "It didn't reach Harry." He looked down at his wand and the tiny crack along its flank. "But it damaged my wand."

"Mine, too." Lupin said. The others who had protected Harry nodded, as well.

Dumbledore flicked his hand and the wands were repaired. He turned to Severus, who was still staring at the dome.

"Severus."

"What the bloody hell happened?" Severus whirled towards the Headmaster. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

Dumbledore gestured everyone out of the room and they all grimly filed out. He locked the door with complex waves of his wand, then turned to Severus.

"Earlier tonight, Miss Granger's family was attacked by Greyback, Mulciber, MacNair, and Bellatrix Lestrange. We had set up wards for instances like this, but they had managed to block the alert. We didn't get there until - until it was too late."

"The girl's family was tortured right in front of her, Severus," Minerva said when Albus couldn't say any more. "Miss Granger managed to send a patronus before the wards locked, but we couldn't get through in time."

"Three hours," Moody added. "It was three hours before we got through the wards. And when we got inside . . . " In a rare show of emotion, Moody scrubbed his hand down his face. Severus noticed for the first time that Moody's hands and clothes were streaked with blood. "The girl was nearly mad. I don't know where she learned the dark arts, but she -" He met Snape's eyes. "She mutilated them. Bellatrix managed to get away, but she had some damage, too, judging from the pensieve accounts we managed to get - basically force out of - the girl."

"It's my fault Bellatrix got away."

Everyone turned to Harry, who still had tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I stopped her when she would have - she would have -" The boy's hands turned into fists and he scrubbed at the tears with the heels of his palms. "She was casting Unforgivables and dark spells and who knows what else and she nearly - I had to stop her, I just thought - So I cast Expellarmus and took her wand away - But she was right - if it was Sirius - if it was Sirius, I would have -"

"Harry." Sirius came forward and took the boy into his arms. "Harry, you should rest. So should you," he said to Ron, who had not spoken a word since they had retrieved Hermione. Arthur kept a hand on his youngest son's shoulders as they followed Harry, Sirius, and Remus as they walked away. Over the top of the boy's heads, Arthur, Sirius, and Remus looked back at Dumbledore grimly and nodded.

"Miss Granger," Albus continued once the distraught boys had gone, "managed to use wandless magic to injure Miss Lestrange. As you've seen earlier, her skills in Dark Magic is formidable but very unstable. Even Mister Weasley," Albus gestured to Bill, "had great difficulty in containing her magic enough to keep us safe from her."

Snape nodded solemnly. "And you want me to help control it."

Dumbledore and Minerva stared at him with varying degrees of pity. Bill and Moody resolutely looked away. Severus went cold as he stared into Dumbledore's eyes. The emotion in them that Severus could not identify earlier was clear now.

"I want you to get rid of it," Albus said.

The emotion was despair.

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 **A/N: By the way, I've recently partnered with a good friend of mine, Don of trisoniantexts. We started an online Redbubble shop. Check out our fandom and quotes merch at /people/trisoniantexts. Let us know what you think through Twitter/IG at jttbcm or trisoniantexts. Enjoy!**


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